Nap Facts

1.  The human sleep-wake cycle causes a drop in alertness between about 2 and 5 pm in the afternoon and more dramatically in the early morning between 2 and 5 am.  This suggests we need two sleep periods a day, as in siesta cultures.

 

2.  The afternoon slump is a natural effect of our circadian rhythms, and occurs even if you’ve had a good night’s sleep causing tiredness, loss of focus/reduced concentration and increased irritability.   

 

3.  Workplace accidents and errors peak at exactly the same times that our circadian rhythms cause a drop in alertness.

 

4.  A brief nap can improve your mood and productivity, alleviate tiredness, increase alertness and reduce errors made at work.  A nap as brief as 10 minutes will produce these results.

 

5.  A mid afternoon nap has been shown to be more recuperative than a nap taken at other times of the day.  If you nap at other times you will still get some benefit but it won’t necessarily prevent the afternoon slump, which is programmed in to our natural biological rhythm.

 

6.  If you take the opportunity to nap, but don’t fall asleep, your mood and problem solving ability can still get benefit.

Acknowledgments to Dr Gerard Kennedy, Sleep Specialist, Melbourne.

© Thea O'Connor 2006 :: phone 0412 190 860